Today, I am shocked by the amount of money spent by Christian organizations to fund these groups and like Ira Michaelson, East Coast Outreach Coordinator at Jews for Judaism; I fear the tentacles of these groups.
“We at Jews for Judaism are amazed at the apathy in the Jewish community, and the lack of concern for the missionary threat. People do not understand the agenda. Nobody knows their agenda better than me, as I was raised Orthodox, and went off the derech (WAY) and found myself among them for almost 20 years before I made tshuva and returned to authentic Judaism. Consider that the Joseph Project, which is an arm of the MJAA (Messianic Jewish Alliance of America), has in the past sent an average of 70 million dollars a year in humanitarian aid annually to Israel. In essence these groups do more financially for the poor in Israel, than does the government. You can see why there is no rush to kick them out. They target, for instance, the Russians by offering clothing, items for babies, food, etc. We estimate as many as 180 Hebrew Christian congregations of varying sizes in Israel"
I have read many comments by Hebrew Christians who like to refer to themselves AS Messianic Jews on my blogs. They all have a sense of entitlement, that they have the right to tell the Jewish people “who is a Jew.” That they feel they have a right to get into this discussion boggles the mind. There are others who identify as Christian and they, too, feel they have the right to define for us “who is a Jew.” When those of us who believe they have no say in this discussion any more than I would consider it politic to tell a Christian who is a Christian, we are called intolerant. This takes the definition of tolerant to a new level: self –destruction. What chutzpa!
Hebrew Christianity in the guise of Messianic Judaism maintains as a core conviction that a Jewish person does not lose his Jewish identity when he becomes a believer in Jesus, the Messiah. There is one indisputable fact: one cannot be a Jew and believe in the concept of Jesus as the Messiah. Jews do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the son of God. That is Christianity, which, in most cases, accepts belief in the trinity and the virgin birth. These doctrines are incompatible with Judaism, and what it teaches concerning the messiah.
Some Messianic Jews consider themselves “Jews affiliated with Christianity,” except when they proselytize. Then they are Jews, but they are funded only by Christian organizations. Very big Christian organizations. http://jewishisrael.ning.com/main/search/search?q=calev+myers
And now Jews for Jesus, an evangelistic Christian organization has competition for our souls from Chosen People Ministries, Assemblies of God, MJAA, UMJC, and Foursquare and major Christian television networks such as Daystar, Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) and CBN, with TV studios in Israel supporting messianic missionaries.
If one is funded by Christian organizations, how can one be promoting Judaism?
I have lost track of the number of times different members of this sect and Christians defending them said to the effect “You can be a Jew and believe in the Gods of the Hindus. And Jews can believe in Buddha. Or that there are atheist Jews. ”
Ipso facto-You can be a Jew and believe in Jesus!
Here are some quotes from blogs about Hebrew Christians also known as Messianic Judaism:
“I humbly submit to you that Jews for Jesus and other Hebrew Christians instead of masquerading as Jews, they are true Jews who have taken a different form of Judaism than the rabbinical Judaism.”
“Care to define true Judaism please?”
“Let’s say an ethnic Jew, who believes that Yeshua is the Messiah, who believes in Torah and Tanach and who keeps Sabbath. What is it about him that is not Jewish? That is why I asked the question. Let Messianic Jews be who they are and let them believe what they do.”
“The first Christians were Jewish; rather we can say Christianity is a branch of Judaism, in a way. So if 1800 years ago a man could be Jewish and believe in Yeshua, I see no reason why not today.”
“I am simply saying that there are some tough questions which Jewish people need to ask themselves.”
Remember, this is coming from the mouths of Messianic Jews or Christians defending them.
Christians tried for thousands of years to kill us. Anti-semitism is here because of Christianity. The Pope knows this.
Whatever you may be, whatever faith you carry, Hebrew Christians are out to convert the Jews and only the Jews to Christianity, for their own purposes. There are 14 million Jews in the world. For Messianic Judaism that’s 14 million too many. I have been told not to be concerned; in Israel the number of Messianic Jews is small, especially when compared to Orthodox Jews. That the number of Messianic Jews is small in Israel is irrelevant. Their plan is to continue converting the weak, the insecure, and the unsure. A modern day group of Amalekites.
It has been suggested, too many times, in different ways, that the Jews are offending Messianic Jews. I have been told that by singling out and demonizing Jews affiliated with Christianity, that it could erode the already falling support of Evangelical Christians for the state of Israel. Are these covert threats?
It seems I should worry about losing their support because we do not have too many friends left in the world. I sometimes am left with the impression that we should give up our souls in gratitude to these people because they defend Israel.
I follow Dumisani Washington of "Institute For Black Solidarity" for Israel (IBSI) . He, too, is a great orator for Israel and he is using his abundant skills to reach out to Black America with the truth about Israel- with facts. But he has collaborated with Caleb Myers, founder and chief counsel of the Jerusalem Institute of Justice, a Messianic Jew who uses the court system in Israel to further his desire to make Messianic Judaism “kosher” so that Messianic Jews, amongst other things can claim right of return. http://forward.com/articles/13307/messianic-teen-has-israel-s-annual-bible-q-/ Caleb Myers, de facto spokesman for Israel’s messianic congregations wants to “shine[s] a light on a phobia that exists toward messianic Jews in Israel.” http://jewishisrael.ning.com/page/calevs-crusadeagainst-orthodox
It can be difficult to explain how it feels to be confronted by covert converters. Imagine a black organization, like NAACP or Dumisani’s "(IBSI) is offered assistance by white groups. And the assistance is formidable. But there is a caveat, not spoken aloud, but rather understood: this assistance will be withdrawn if black people do not agree to become white, or agree to hear the reasons for becoming white, because white is the color that God wants.
If Christians want to defend Israel because it is right, because the Jewish people have a right to a home, that Jewish people have a right to exist as Jews a priori, then I will welcome them with open arms. But, if my Jewishness is only instrumental, if I am being used to serve a Christian purpose, I am not interested. It is morally and ethically anathema to me. I will not stand by and permit these Evangelicals to fund our extinction through conversion.
Israel is a strong democracy. And it is a Jewish state-that is open to others. But a democracy must make sure that it does not, in the name of religious freedom, a demand made by the false prophets, eat its young.